While on-call pay for surgical specialists dropped last year, surgeons are still compensated more highly than primary care physicians for their time on-call, according to a Medscape report.
According to the MGMA Medical Directorship and On-Call Compensation Survey: 2013 Report Based on 2012 Data released last month, 70 percent of all physicians received payment for on-call coverage in 2012, a 10 percent increase over the previous year. Surgical specialists, including orthopedists and neurosurgeons, are most in demand and average daily stipends were reported as $900 in 2012.
Despite receiving more than primary care physicians — who reported on average $250 daily stipend for on-call coverage — surgical specialists saw a 10 percent rate decrease in 2012.